The Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis listens to a question from the media. He introduced, Raiders new General Manager Reggie McKenzie at a press conference at Raiders headquarters in Oakland Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Photo: Lance Iversen, The Chronicle

The Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis listens to a question from the...

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The Alamodome is seen in this Oct. 25, 2012 aerial.

Photo: William Luther, San Antonio Express-News

The Alamodome is seen in this Oct. 25, 2012 aerial.

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Former HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros speaks to the media Friday, May 23, 2014.

San Antonio Mayor and incoming Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro speaks during a news conference on Wednesday, July 9, 2014, at San Antonio City Hall.

Photo: Timothy Tai, San Antonio Express-News

San Antonio Mayor and incoming Secretary of Housing and Urban...

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Ray Perez, center, tweets out the results of the vote during Wednesday's council meeting, as other raiders and A's fans do the same. The Oakland City Council voted to revise the proposed lease agreement with the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday night, July 16, 2014, during a special session in Oakland, Calif. The revised lease must be approved by the Coliseum Authority and the Athletics now.

Keith Salminen walks out of City Hall with his A's/Raiders flag after Wednesday's council meeting. The Oakland City Council voted to revise the proposed lease agreement with the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday night, July 16, 2014, during a special session in Oakland, Calif. The revised lease must be approved by the Coliseum Authority and the Athletics now.

Raiders fans came to show their support for the A's lease deal during Wednesday's council meeting. The Oakland City Council voted to revise the proposed lease agreement with the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday night, July 16, 2014, during a special session in Oakland, Calif. The revised lease must be approved by the Coliseum Authority and the Athletics now.

Fans show their feelings at the end of the game as the Oakland Raiders lost to the Denver Broncos 34-14 at O.co Coliseum in Oakland, Ca. , on Sunday Dec. 29, 2013.

Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle

Fans show their feelings at the end of the game as the Oakland...

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The Oakland Coliseum

Photo: Kat Wade, The Chronicle

The Oakland Coliseum

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Raiders Wide Receiver Rod Streater signs Danielle McFadyen's shirt at the San Francisco Zoo on July 21, 2014 in San Francisco, CA. The Rod Streater Foundation and the San Francisco Zoo hosted children and family members from the Ronald Mcdonald houses at Stanford and San Francisco.

Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis and two top lieutenants met recently with several San Antonio officials to discuss the potential of moving his NFL team from the Bay Area to the Alamo City, sources familiar with the matter have confirmed.

San Antonio has often been used as a bargaining chip for pro sports franchises trying to negotiate better deals in their own cities, but sources have characterized Davis' interest in San Antonio to be at least somewhat more serious. He is clearly perturbed with the current situation in Oakland, where the team's lease expires after the 2014-15 season and where the A's have been going through an arduous lease approval process.

In San Antonio, Henry Cisneros, who led the charge to build the Alamodome when he was mayor, has been described by sources as the architect of the meeting.

Davis and his associates reportedly spent two or three days in Texas, visiting the Alamodome and other places. They also took an aerial tour of the city in a helicopter, arranged by developer Marty Wender.

Despite the meetings, Davis took to Twitter to downplay the visit, saying he was in San Antonio to help honor former Raiders player Cliff Branch in a local ceremony.

Davis' statement read: "Former San Antonio Mayor Henry Cisneros is a friend, and Henry suggested I take the opportunity to meet with some of the city officials while we were in town. I have nothing further to discuss on the topic."

'Exploring his options'

Oakland officials, fresh from tumultuous lease negotiations with the A's, said they weren't surprised that Raiders leaders were looking into relocating to San Antonio, based on the uncertainties in the Coliseum plans. While the Alameda County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the A's lease deal on Tuesday and it's expected to be finalized soon, there is still no decision on what the rest of the Coliseum project will look like or how it will be funded.

"Mark (Davis) is just exploring his options, and I don't blame him," said Oakland Councilman Larry Reid, who sits on the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority, which acts as the teams' landlord. "Right now, we have a $600 million funding gap for a football-only stadium, and they're probably saying the same thing I've been saying to city staff: Show me the money."

The development firm that plans to build one or more stadiums, shops, housing and other amenities at the Coliseum complex is expected to meet with Oakland officials this week to discuss the project's funding.

If the Raiders moved to Texas, though, Davis is expected to seek a new stadium within a few years, after the team proves itself in the Alamo City. With upgrades, the Alamodome could be ready for a 2015-16 NFL season, though it would be a temporary home at best.

Davis told San Antonio civic and business leaders he isn't seeking a "Jerry Jones-type facility" and prefers "a small, intimate" stadium that he can place "a statue of his father (Al) in front of," a source said.

Modest media market

But even if San Antonio ponies up an enticing deal and Davis ultimately decides to relocate here, the two sides would still face an uphill battle. San Antonio only ranks in the mid-30s in the nation's top television markets and NFL owners - including the Dallas Cowboys and the Houston Texans - would have to vote on the deal.

Any team desiring to relocate would need the blessing of 24 of the league's 32 owners. Greg Aiello, the NFL's senior vice president of communications, had little to say on a potential Raiders relocation.

"We don't have any information about (Davis' meeting in San Antonio), so there is no reason for us to comment," he said Tuesday.

It appears Davis' meeting has been in the works for at least a few months. But the details of his visit indicate that he could be interested in San Antonio as more than just a bargaining chip in Oakland.

While there, the Raiders' owner had separate discussions with Spurs owner Peter Holt and San Antonio businessman Red McCombs, who both showed interest in having a stake in the team if it were to move to Texas.

A source indicated that the beleaguered Wheatley Heights sports complex on the East Side could serve as a potential training facility, and Davis also looked at open land during his visit.

In 2005, Saints owner Tom Benson had serious talks about relocating his team to San Antonio in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, but then-NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue persuaded Benson to return the club to the Crescent City.

Only serious prospects

Finally tired of being used as leverage for teams to gain better deals in their markets, city officials and other leaders decided they would negotiate only with teams that had the relocation blessing of their respective leagues.

In 2011, the city and county commissioned California-based Premier Partnerships, a sales and marketing firm focused on "revenue optimization" of sports initiatives, to conduct a feasibility study. The consultant determined that San Antonio could not support teams in the MLB or NFL.

Alamo City falls short

The report said, among other things, that San Antonio fell short on the number of Fortune 500 companies and median household income.

Raiders fans, meanwhile, were frustrated Tuesday after news of the San Antonio visit spread. Some said they had "rumor fatigue" from the threats of relocation from Oakland's sports franchises, while others said they felt betrayed, noting that some fans had taken out second mortgages on their homes to buy Raiders seat licenses when the team returned from Los Angeles in the 1990s.

The team should return that loyalty, they said.

"I want to believe Mark Davis wants to stay in Oakland. I also want to believe the A's will stay in Oakland," said Kenny Mellor, a longtime Raiders season-ticket holder and member of a grassroots group, Save Oakland Sports. "I don't see why both teams can't have stadiums at the Coliseum site. There's plenty of room. The fans are here. I honestly don't see what the problem is."